Had a great after dinner chat with lovely new friends at the Blue Heron Inn tonight. Cooking came up in the conversation so here is my recipe for Borscht. It's based on the "Continental Borscht" recipe from the 1970 edition of "America's Best Vegetable Recipes" (Farm Journal).
Double Down Borscht (Purchase beets with fresh tops to make this recipe)
2 - 3 cups coarse grated fresh beets (washed and peeled)
1 medium onion chopped
1 - 2 carrots peeled and sliced thinly or grated
3 cups water
2 cups beef broth
All the beet stems, washed and cut into 1/2 " to 1" pieces
All the beet greens, washed
1 TBSP lemon juice
Sour Cream (optional)
For quick prep, use your food processor - chop onion well, add carrots and chop medium, leaving veggies in bowl of processor, swap out cutter for grater and grate beets (or grate both carrots and beets). Every thing is in the processor and can be dumped into a large soup pot.
Add the water, bring to boil, cover and simmer 20 - 30 minutes
Add the beef broth and the beet stem pieces and continue to simmer 15 minutes.
While soup is cooking, take 4 - 5 leaves at a time. Stack them and cut lengthwise into roughly 4 strips (depends on how big leaves are). Cut strips crosswise into 1/4" slivers.
Add to soup and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Take off of heat and add lemon juice.
Soup is ready to serve hot or can be chilled. Traditionally a dollop of sour cream is added to the soup bowl after dishing up the soup.
Showing posts with label easy recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label easy recipe. Show all posts
Friday, October 14, 2011
Monday, May 25, 2009
Spring Flavors For The Winter
Anyone who reads the recipes that I post here know that I put a premium on taste. The following recipe is spicy/fruity/sharp/sweet all in one. In the winter, it gives a real lift to chicken, pork, ham, beef, and probably salmon too. Since a batch is simmering down on the stove, here's the recipe for you to try:
Rhubarb-Ginger Chutney
1 cup apple-cider vinegar
2 cups brown sugar, packed
4 lb. rhubarb, trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch (or less) pieces (close to 10 cups)
1/2 cup peeled fresh ginger, sliced and cut into fine julienne (I grated much of mine)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (or 1 heaping Tablespoon of minced garlic from a jar)
12 black peppercorns or 12 good twists from a pepper grinder
1 cup currants or raisins
1 tsp. salt
Using a non-reactive large pot, bring vinegar and sugar to a boil, add all other ingredients. Lower heat to simmer and cook (without a lid), stirring occasionally. Cook down to desired consistency. This may take 45 minutes to one hour depending on how high your simmer setting is. Be sure to watch and stir more frequently as chutney thickens. This makes about one quart.
I freeze mine two different ways. For individual 1/2 cup servings, either freeze in covered 1/2 cup containers or put plastic wrap squares into 1/2 cup cupcake tins. Once tin contents are frozen, pop out the individual servings, wrap, and freeze in gallon Ziploc bags. The other way that I freeze this is to use a 1/2 cup measure and put two scoops into a Ziploc sandwich bag (ergo one cup per bag). Again, when the bags are full, they are stored in one gallon Ziploc bag in the freezer.
To use, remove from freezer just before starting supper preparations. Serve either on the plate or in separate condiment bowls. Our family likes it still partially frozen but if that doesn't suit your tastes, lightly microwave for a few seconds to completely thaw.
Rhubarb-Ginger Chutney
1 cup apple-cider vinegar
2 cups brown sugar, packed
4 lb. rhubarb, trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch (or less) pieces (close to 10 cups)
1/2 cup peeled fresh ginger, sliced and cut into fine julienne (I grated much of mine)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (or 1 heaping Tablespoon of minced garlic from a jar)
12 black peppercorns or 12 good twists from a pepper grinder
1 cup currants or raisins
1 tsp. salt
Using a non-reactive large pot, bring vinegar and sugar to a boil, add all other ingredients. Lower heat to simmer and cook (without a lid), stirring occasionally. Cook down to desired consistency. This may take 45 minutes to one hour depending on how high your simmer setting is. Be sure to watch and stir more frequently as chutney thickens. This makes about one quart.
I freeze mine two different ways. For individual 1/2 cup servings, either freeze in covered 1/2 cup containers or put plastic wrap squares into 1/2 cup cupcake tins. Once tin contents are frozen, pop out the individual servings, wrap, and freeze in gallon Ziploc bags. The other way that I freeze this is to use a 1/2 cup measure and put two scoops into a Ziploc sandwich bag (ergo one cup per bag). Again, when the bags are full, they are stored in one gallon Ziploc bag in the freezer.
To use, remove from freezer just before starting supper preparations. Serve either on the plate or in separate condiment bowls. Our family likes it still partially frozen but if that doesn't suit your tastes, lightly microwave for a few seconds to completely thaw.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Bitter Cold and My Cold
Temperatures last night ran between +5 to +9 degrees. Glad I wasn't out in it. Found the fuzzy icicles and the rose tinted sky quite appealing when I put the dog out this morning. Check out the photos.
Fighting a cold for a week has been an up and down affair. Yesterday's lunch was a tried and true cold buster. Easy to make and surprisingly good. Think I'll go and make another batch today.
Medicinal Chicken Broth
14 oz can chicken broth (Swanson or College Inn are best)
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 TBSP Asian fish sauce (start with 1 tsp if you aren't used to it)
1/4 tsp. ground ginger or 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
sprinkle of red pepper
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh or frozen chives or leeks
Optional - spaghetti noodles broken into 1 inch pieces.
Usually I double this so there is enough for two of us. Heat the broth, garlic, fish sauce, ginger, red pepper, lemon juice, and chives in a sauce pan until it boils. At this point, the broth is ready to serve. If adding the noodles, turn to simmer and add noodles. Simmer until noodles are tender, then serve.
I found that this soup is not only good for congestion, it also settles the stomach. The trick is to serve it in very small portions (a Chinese tea cup does nicely). Served hot in a small cup, it can be spooned or sipped slowly. After 20 minutes, serve another small cup. For congestion, serve in a normal soup bowl but provide plenty of tissues as it really helps clear the head and chest.
The recipe was adapted from a Thai or Vietnamese soup recipe that was printed in Sunset Magazine many years ago. The list of ingredients included lemongrass (not a staple in my house), and several other items not readily at hand. I paired it down to the basic flavors and congestion fighters, then found that it also worked with stomach upsets.
Fighting a cold for a week has been an up and down affair. Yesterday's lunch was a tried and true cold buster. Easy to make and surprisingly good. Think I'll go and make another batch today.
Medicinal Chicken Broth
14 oz can chicken broth (Swanson or College Inn are best)
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 TBSP Asian fish sauce (start with 1 tsp if you aren't used to it)
1/4 tsp. ground ginger or 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
sprinkle of red pepper
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh or frozen chives or leeks
Optional - spaghetti noodles broken into 1 inch pieces.
Usually I double this so there is enough for two of us. Heat the broth, garlic, fish sauce, ginger, red pepper, lemon juice, and chives in a sauce pan until it boils. At this point, the broth is ready to serve. If adding the noodles, turn to simmer and add noodles. Simmer until noodles are tender, then serve.
I found that this soup is not only good for congestion, it also settles the stomach. The trick is to serve it in very small portions (a Chinese tea cup does nicely). Served hot in a small cup, it can be spooned or sipped slowly. After 20 minutes, serve another small cup. For congestion, serve in a normal soup bowl but provide plenty of tissues as it really helps clear the head and chest.
The recipe was adapted from a Thai or Vietnamese soup recipe that was printed in Sunset Magazine many years ago. The list of ingredients included lemongrass (not a staple in my house), and several other items not readily at hand. I paired it down to the basic flavors and congestion fighters, then found that it also worked with stomach upsets.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Curried Broccoli Cheddar Soup
My own invention, this is easy and filling. Quantity serves two adults for a filling supper or about four - 1 cup servings.
CURRIED BROCCOLI CHEDDAR SOUP
2 TBSP butter or olive oil
2 cups broccoli florets, cleaned and cut into small pieces
1 - 14 oz can chicken broth
2 TBSP "Patak's" Madras Curry Paste - Hot (or 1 to 3 tsp. Curry Powder)
4 TBSP flour
2 cups milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (or more)
Additional milk or chicken broth as necessary
Melt butter over medium heat until melted (don't brown). Add broccoli florets and stir. Cook over medium heat until broccoli is bright green. Cook for another 2 minutes. Push broccoli to one side of pan and add 1/2 can of chicken broth. Add the Curry Paste or Powder to the chicken broth. Stir to dissolve, then stir back in the broccoli. Add the rest of the can of broth. While this heats, put the flour into the empty can and add one cup of milk to the can. Stir well to mix in flour. Add second cup of milk to pan and then slowly add the flour/milk mixture, stirring well. As mixture thickens, add additional milk as necessary to keep soup at desired thickness. Turn down heat. Slowly add grated cheddar cheese (I used Crowley's medium white Vermont cheese). As soon as cheese is mixed in, remove from heat.
If you aren't used to using curry powder, start with 1 teaspoon and then taste and add more as necessary. I use curry powder frequently to "brighten" cream soups, but not to overpower the flavors. Notice that I did not add any salt or pepper. The broth and cheese both contain salt so no additional salt was necessary. Pepper was ground on top of each bowl of soup. I put a garnish of fried onions on top but this isn't necessary. This soup stands on it's own.
CURRIED BROCCOLI CHEDDAR SOUP
2 TBSP butter or olive oil
2 cups broccoli florets, cleaned and cut into small pieces
1 - 14 oz can chicken broth
2 TBSP "Patak's" Madras Curry Paste - Hot (or 1 to 3 tsp. Curry Powder)
4 TBSP flour
2 cups milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (or more)
Additional milk or chicken broth as necessary
Melt butter over medium heat until melted (don't brown). Add broccoli florets and stir. Cook over medium heat until broccoli is bright green. Cook for another 2 minutes. Push broccoli to one side of pan and add 1/2 can of chicken broth. Add the Curry Paste or Powder to the chicken broth. Stir to dissolve, then stir back in the broccoli. Add the rest of the can of broth. While this heats, put the flour into the empty can and add one cup of milk to the can. Stir well to mix in flour. Add second cup of milk to pan and then slowly add the flour/milk mixture, stirring well. As mixture thickens, add additional milk as necessary to keep soup at desired thickness. Turn down heat. Slowly add grated cheddar cheese (I used Crowley's medium white Vermont cheese). As soon as cheese is mixed in, remove from heat.
If you aren't used to using curry powder, start with 1 teaspoon and then taste and add more as necessary. I use curry powder frequently to "brighten" cream soups, but not to overpower the flavors. Notice that I did not add any salt or pepper. The broth and cheese both contain salt so no additional salt was necessary. Pepper was ground on top of each bowl of soup. I put a garnish of fried onions on top but this isn't necessary. This soup stands on it's own.
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